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“Um…” Ivy raised her hand, glancing over at the women. Macy and Trista perked up curiously. “I have an idea. Actually, it’s mine and Bailey’s.”
The mere mention of his sister-in-law had his attention. While all the other women hadn’t considered Hades’ response and blessing, Bailey would be different.
Hades lifted his chin, willing to hear Ivy out.
“Pub crawl on Main Street.”
Who’s Main Street? Ghosttown? Most businesses closed their doors at eight o’clock on weekends. And there was a blaring fact Ivy and Bailey obviously overlooked. There weren’t any liquor stores or bars in the small town. The closest thing Ghosttown had to a pub was the pizzeria that offered beer and wine. Otherwise, all the others were dry businesses.
The brothers laughed, including Hades himself. Dobbs didn’t as he watched his woman approach the table.
“That’s gonna be a short fucking pub crawl, sweetheart,” Gage said.
Ivy shook her head. “Not if all the businesses participate.”
Gage snorted. “Good luck making that happen.”
Ivy cocked her head. “We already did. We didn’t think Hades would go for either of the other suggestions, so we came up with a Plan C. Bailey, and I talked to all the owners, and everybody agreed to stay open late. And provide their own specialty drink.”
“Are you serious?” Trista asked the same question Hades had been thinking. Ghosttown had come around to the club taking up residency. They’d all seen the lucrative effects and felt the protection of their small town. But rarely did many go out of their way for the Riders.
“Yeah.” Ivy nodded, smiling. “We hit up everyone, and they’re all in. Carla said they’d keep the diner open and give us dinner. Maria at the pizzeria said to make them our last stop, and they’ll serve dessert and a special celebratory liquor. And everyone else is in. The guy at the surplus store said he’d make a batch of his homemade moonshine. I know it’s not the usual bachelorette party, but it could be a lot of fun. Kind of like trick-or-treating for alcohol.” Ivy snickered with a shrug. “Then, at the end of the night, we could all meet up here.”
“It’s not the Bahamas, but I’m loving that idea, Ivy,” Macy said, and from the smile on Trista’s face, she agreed. All that was left was Hades signing off on it.
“Yeah, and I even convinced Arnett to set up a makeshift lemonade stand in his driveway and serve us spiked cider as our last stop before we end the night at the clubhouse,” Ivy said, eyeing Hades.
What the fuck? Hades jerked his head, watching her lips twitch as she leaned into Dobbs, who pulled her down onto his lap.
Ivy grinned and quirked her brow. “Now, that would be funny!”
Even Hades wasn’t immune to the humor in that scenario, and he cracked a smile.
“What do you think, Hades?” Trista asked.
A lot of thought and legwork had gone into the plan. Clearly, Ivy and Bailey were trying to respect his opposition to the idea while still giving Vada a night she’d enjoy.
“Clear it with Vada. If she wants it, then yeah, I’m good with that.”
Trista immediately jumped up from the table and had her phone to her ear as she started across the room. Hades had no question who she was calling.
Ghosttown’s first pub crawl. Knowing the women, it wouldn’t be the last.
Chapter Four
With only ten days until the wedding, Vada planned on spending the evening doing her lesson plans. There was still plenty of time to hand them in before the honeymoon, but Vada wanted to make sure nothing was left to the last minute. She set Allie up with a snack, headphones, and her favorite movie upstairs. Vada usually limited her screen time, but Allie was reaping the benefits in the last few weeks of busy planning.
Vada needed a few hours without distraction.
As always, her mother had impeccable timing. Vada could’ve, and she should’ve, let the call go to voicemail. But they’d been playing phone tag for the past week. Between the two of them, they’d racked up eight voicemails. Even though Vada knew her mother was aware of her school schedule, she always seemed to call when Vada was teaching. While this timing wasn’t great, the opportunity was exactly what she needed. If she had any last hope of a Hail Mary, this was it.
They’d been speaking for the last fifteen minutes. Vada tapped her finger to her lips as she circled the coffee table, taking a seat on the couch. Vada switched the phone to speaker and set it down on the table. She was waiting patiently for her mother to say anything that Vada could segue into wedding talk.
Most phone calls with her mother weren’t as planned and thought out, but Vada had come prepared. If this was her last chance of getting her mom to attend her wedding, then she had to be ready. If she’d learned anything from her father, it was to always be armed with a rebuttal if things didn’t go her way.
Vada worked silently but listened intently, waiting. It took another ten minutes, and then she got it.
“And then the caterers…”
